In personal injury cases, evidence must be provided to prove the merits of the case and the extent of damages. When an accident occurs and you sustain great injuries that have affected your well-being and lifestyle due to negligence or intentionally wrong acts of another person, the burden of the case has shifted to you to prove that your injury is a result of the incident. This is where evidence comes in. Indeed, there is no better way to build a good personal injury claim than by gathering, presenting, and analyzing evidence. Evidence collection and presentation are really complex; therefore, highly qualified legal expertise involvement is necessary. Personal injury attorneys know where and how to get crucial evidence, enlist expert testimony, and develop a strong narrative for your case. This article will outline the role of evidence and how it relates to personal injury claims.
The Key Evidence
Evidence is the lifeblood of any personal injury claim as it displays the strengths of your case in relation to the amount of damages incurred. Medical records are the basic documents showing the injuries you have incurred, the treatment given and the projection for recovery to show what the injury has done to change your life. An accident report is an official report of the incident, normally filed by the police, that describes the incident, incorporating witness statements and diagrams to clearly explain what happened. Firsthand information from eyewitnesses may give credence to your story, and photographs outline the scenes, injuries, and other property damage. In many cases, surveillance cameras near the scene can actually capture the given incident and the before-and-after actions that are incontestable. Blackburn Romey Indiana personal injury law firm knows where to look for relevant evidence and when to involve experts, which certainly will help them present an airtight case for your claim.
Establishing Liability
Basically, the purpose of evidence, particularly in personal injury claims, is to prove liability. Proving liability in a personal injury claim is the establishment of how the defendant is liable under the law for the injuries you have suffered. First of all, you would need to establish some facts: that the defendant owed you a duty of care; they were supposed to perform their actions so that you would not be harmed. Secondly, it should be established that they breached that duty through some negligent or wrong action that resulted in an accident that hurt them. Evidence will greatly facilitate this assertion. It is here that you can use medical records, accounts of eyewitnesses, and reports on accidents to explain how the actions of the other party caused you the injury. Eventually, liability must be established for compensation of damages to you; this makes the process of determining liability an important aspect in each and every personal injury case.
Quantifying Damages
In addition to proving liability, evidence is also crucial in quantifying damages. Damages in a personal injury claim must be quantified so that you may be compensated financially for your injuries. This consists of the valuation of both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages refer to concrete, easily calculable losses, which include medical treatment, lost income, and expenses of rehabilitation or continued care. These figures are more often based on invoices, pay slips, and other financial documents. Non-economic damages involve more subjective loss, including pain, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life. These damages are much harder to quantify but can be documented through medical records, witness statements, and personal statements showing how the injury has affected your everyday life.
